Valve mechanism for internal-combustion engines.



- W. ELVER PLANCK.- VALVE MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILEQ FEB.2-6. I914;

Patented Aug. 29,1916.

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APPLICATION men ran. 26. 1914.

rammin 29,1916.

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WIL IAM EVERETT V E PLANCK, 0F ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIGNoE To GENERA .ELECTRIC COMBANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

VALVE MECHANIsM Eon 'INT ENAL-CoMBUsT-IoN ENGINES.

fo'llowing is a specification.

The present invention relates to valve mechanism for internal combustion engines,

and-more especially to those ofthe opposed fsjpiston typeoperating on the high compression cycle and having compressed ,air .start- I Briefly stated, my improvement comprises a novel arrangement of parts whereby the air starting valve, fuel valve, and fuel pump are actuated by a connecting rod ofthe engine thereby avoidingthe use of a cam shaft and its associated parts. This means amaterial saving in the number of parts and results in a simpler and less expensive engine.

Further the air starting valve, fuel valve and fuel pump are soarranged asto. be under the control of a single operating handle or lever. I v

My improvements are directed chiefly to engines intended todrive motor cars which are of the variable speed type and will be described with this in View, but my 1nvention is not necessarily limited thereto.

The principal advantageous features of my invention reside in thefact that the cam shaft is done away with and a single lever located at any convenient point enables the operator to start or stop the engine; to vary the amount of fuel delivered by the pump to the fuel injectors over the full range of load,

to vary the point of opening of the fuel valve for different loads; to shut off the efi'ective delivery of the pump during the air starting period, thereby avoiding the use of auxiliary devicesto relievethe fuel pump .pressure;

and to'move the starting valve actuator quickly into and out of operative relation with respect to the connecting rod.

- In the accompanying drawings which" illustrate one of the embodiments of my inventiomFigurelis a View in side elevation,

with certain ,of theparts broken away, of a heavy oil engine illustrating one of the embodinients ofmy invention; Fig. 2 is a des tailed .view on a larger scale showing the ",means' for operating the valves fIOIIL'OIlB of the side rods; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a Application filed February 26, 1314. Serial No. 821,333.

"fll'll' Improvements in Valve Mechanisms for Internal-Combustion Engines, of wh ch the Specification of Letters Patent Patented Aug, 29, 1916,

part of the controlling mechanism, and Fig. 4 shows a hand lever controlling the engine as a whole.

The engine shown is of the niulti-cylinder type,',a1though my invention can be also. applied to an engine having a single cylinder.

Furthermore, my invention is shown in connection with an engine havln g oppositelymovsing pistons in the same cylinder, and while my invention is particularly adapted for an engine of this character it is not limited thereto in all particulars, as will be evident from a study hereof.

5 indicates a cylinder containing a lower piston G and an upper piston 7. The lower piston is connected to the main shaft 8 by a connecting rod in the usual manner and the.

upper piston.is connectell to the main shaft by a pair of SNlB COIlDeCUUg rods 9, only one of which is shown, the other being on the duits 12 ofwhich two are provided. Fuel 30 is admitted to the engine under the control of ancedle valve 13, shown in dotted. lines, the latter being located in an injector of any suitable or well-known construction.- As, a

general thing the fuel will be injected into the cylinder by means of a body of highly compressed air, generally referred to as the blast air.

The needle valve is raisedfrom its seat against the pressure of iii spring or compressed air by the lever 14, the latter being mounted en a spindle 15. hlounted on the spindle is a second lever 16 cz irrying a roller at its free end. In order to actuate the fuel valve at'the proper time two movable and coiiperating members 17 and 18 are provided which are pivotally united by the pin 19. One end of the member l7 is pivotally supported by an eccentric 20 located on the .control'shaft 21. The lower end of the member 18 is connected to a connecting rod, as, for example, to the side rod 9 by the. pin 22 whicl1has an orbital path as indicated by the broken and dotted lines 23, Fig. 2. I Carried by the member 1S and subjected to the modifying influence of one membeixon the other isa cam 24 which may given an orbital movementand cause the lever 16 to open the needle valve once for each revolution of the crank shaft. Owing to the fact that the fulcrum for the lever members 17 and 18 is made in the form of an eccentric as it is turned in one direction or the other it will change the timing of the fuel valve. That is to say the cam 2 will engage the roller on the fuel valve lever 16 earlier or later and hence a greater or less amount of fuel will he admitted to the combustion chamber. 1 also drive the fuel pmnp from the connecting rod by the same means that are employed to actuate the fuel valve. To this end a lever is provided through which the pivot til passes. The upper end ol' the levcr is connected to the member 17 by pin ll. and the latter is held in position by the spring 3'. which enters the slot therein. The lower end of the lever is connecltal to a walking beam 33. the left hand end of which is connected by a link IH with the cross-lietnl carrying the pump plunger 35. This pump is provided with a suction valve :as, \vliosc stem projects below the pump casing and is controlled by the a tion of the arm 3T. The arm 37 vibrates in svm'hrouislu with the plunger due to the connecting rod or link it and by moving the point ol connection between the rod 38 and the arm 37 toward o' away from the fulcrum of said arm. The time of closing of the suction valve will be earlier or later as the case may he. thus regulating the engine by causing a greatcror less amount of oil to be delivered b v the pump to the l'uel injector. The position of the rod 38 may be changed by a system of levers 239 and lllll\' lt) through the. control shaft 21 and controlling handle 11, Fig. 3. in order to insure the lilling ol the pipe leading to the fuel injector prior to starting. the pivot pin ill is removed which disconnects the lever 2h) from the members 17 aml l8 and thereafter the pump plunger can be. reciprocated by the hand lever 33. After a. few strokes the pivot pin is restored to place and the engine is ready for starting. 1 do not claim herein the specilic construction of this 7 pump since it. l'orms the subject matter of my Patent No. 1,116.95!) dated November 117, lll-l.

The engine herein illustrated depends-for its operation on compressing the air in the working cvlinder to a temperature above u n l l I the igniting temperature ol' the luel. lhls,

therefore. means high compression pressure and some sort of a starting means. in the present instance the engine is started by mnnpressed air subject lothe control of the starting valve 43, shown in dotted lines, which is actuated by a connecting rod. as for example, by the side rod 2) at the proper time through the following means: ll indirates a lever for opening the valve and 45 a second lever for moving the first, both being secured on the spindle -16. t7 indicates a. cam lever which is mounted on the eccentric 48, the latter serving as a fulcrum therefor. The eccentric is mounted on the control shaft- 21, Fig. 3. The upper end of the cam lever is connected by the link -19 to the lever 45. The lower end of said lever 47 is provided with a cam 50 which, when the eccentric 48 is turned to a predetermined position by the hand lever 11. is moved into cooperative relation to the roller 51 which is mounted on the connecting rod, said roller having an orbital movement as indiated in broken-aml-dotted lines in Fig. 2. When the engine is operating on fuel the roller 51 has no etl'ect on the lever l7 nor on the starting valve 43 and hence said parts remain stationary.

In an engine of this character, it is important to reducethe number of controlling devices to the minimum to avoid mistakes in operating and to simplify the apparatus as a whole. I have so arranged the apparatus heretofore referred to that it can be controlled by a single handle or lever. such as 41. forming a selective controlling de-.'

vice. The travel of the hand lever is indicated in Fig. 5%. Moving the lever from the neutral to a vertical position causes the fuel admitted to the engine to vary from mininnun to maximum. In moving from the position marked Neutral to that marked Air start" air is caused to be admitted to one or more of the working cylinders where it drives the engine as an air motor. During the starting period it is important to shut olt the supply of fuel to the injector since otherwise there would be an undue accumulation of fuel in the injector, giving rise to excessive pressures and possibly causing damage on the first tiring stroke. In order to prevent the pump from delivering fuel and at the same time throw the starting mechanism'into operation the two eccentrics :20 and 48. Fig. 3. are provided and .n'iounted on the control shaft 21. The eccentrics are oppositely disposed. as shown in Fig. 3, and are so arranged that a considerabl. angular movement of the shaft :21 and the hand lever ll will not materially change the relation of the parts. l urthcrinore. the parts are so related that as the hand lever ll is m oi ed from the neutral to the full load position the cam 50 progressively movedout off the path of the roller 51. As will be. evident, the main thing is to keep the cam :30 and roller 51 from engaging except during he. starting period. 'hen the handle 41 n; swung to the left. Fig. -l. it lirst shuts ell";

cylinder and then discharged. Continued.

movement of the handle in the same direc- ,,.tion turns the eccentrics and 48 by such anamdu'nt as to lower the cam Qtand get it out of the path of the roller on lever 16 -j the piston and shaft, a fuel valve, a starting valve, a pump capable of supplying variable amounts of fuel to thevalve and cylinder,

mechanism actuated bythe connecting rod for operating the fuel valve andthe starting valve, and a device which controls the pump and also determines whether the connecting rod shall move the fuel valve or "start when air is thus admitted. If it did not stop in the proper position it -will be necessary to bar the shaft around to starting position. The engagement of the cam 50 and roller 51 causes the lever 44 to open the air starting valve 43 and high pressure airentering between the pistons 6 and 7' 20..starts them into operationas an air motor.

This action is continued until the engine is well under way when the starting lever 41' is pushed back across the neutral position which lowers the cam .lever 47 and the cam' 50 and raises the ham 2& into position where it will actuate the fuel valve each time the fulcrum pin 22 completes an orbital movement. I prefer to use one of the side connecting rods for actuating the valves because it is more accessible but the invention is not necessarily limited thereto.

f In accordance with the provisions of/the patent statutes, I have described the principle of operation of my invention together to represent the best embodiment thereof;

' but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative, and

that the invention can be carried out by other means. v

. WVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-:'

with the apparatus which I nowconsider the starting valve.

at. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a working cylinder and piston,'a crank shaft, a connecting rod between the piston and shaft, a fuel valve, a

pump for supplying fuel to the. valve and cylinder, a regulator for the pump, a start- 6 ing-valve, mechanism actuated by the connecting rod for operating the fuel valve, pump regulator and starting valve, and a 'device for controlling the action of the mechanism on the fuel valve, pump regulator and starting valve.

5. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of'a working cylinder and piston, a crank shaft, :1 connecting rod between the piston and shaft, :1 fuel valve, a pump supplying fuel to the valve, a regulator for the pump, a starting valve, a system of levers that is constantly vibrated by the connecting rod for -actuating the fuel valvc,

pump and starting valve, and a incans acting on said system of levers and the pump regulator to cut the pump and fuel valve outof service and the starting valve into service for starting purposes.

1. In an internal combustion engine, the

, combination of a working cylinder and pis ton, a crank shaft, a connecting rod between the piston and shaft, a fuel valve, a

starting valve, mechanism actuated di rectly by the connecting rod for operating the valves,- and a selective controlling device for causing said mechanism to, actuate the fuel valve or the starting valve.

' -2. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a working cylinder and piston, a crank shaft, a connecting rod between e5 ton, a crank shaft, a connecting rod between for moving one ofsaid means into action piston. and shaft, a. fuel valve, :1 fuel pump, I

the piston and shaft, a fuel valve, :1 start-" ing valve, a means actuated directly by the -6. 'In an internal combustion engine, the oo combination of a working cylinder and piston, a crank shaft, a connecting rod between the piston and shaft, a fucl valve, a pump supplying fuel to the valve, a starting valve,

system of levers that-is connected directly 105 to and vibrated by the conncctinfi rod for normally actuating the fuel valve. and a means for modifying the relation of the levers one to another to stop thciuaction on the fuel -'al\'c and. move thcm into po: 11

sition to actuate the starting valvc.

' 7. An intcrnal combustion cnginc coinprismg a working cylinder and piston, a crank shaft, a connectingirod between the,

and an air starting valve, in combination with a set of levers arranged to actuate the fuel valve and pump duringthe normal operation of the engine, a second set of levers for actuating the starting valve, both of said sets being vibrated by the connect ingrod, a fulcrum common to the sets of levers, and a means for adjusting said fulcrum to move one set of lovers into operationand the other set out of operation' 8. An internal combustion engine comprising a working cylinder and piston, a crank shaft. :1 connecting rod between the piston and shaft, a fuel valve, a fuel-pump, and an air starting valve, in combination 130 with a pair of connected levers for actuatmg the fuel va'lve, one'of said levers being pivotally connected to the connecting rod, a

fulcrum for the other lever supported by the engine, a cam lever and connected arm .for actuating the starting valve, said cam lever being supported by the fulcrum, a means moved by the pair of connected levers for actuating the pump plunger, a regulator for the pump, and a means for adjusting the position of the fulcrum to put the starting valve into operation and the fuel valve out of operation and adjusting the regw later of the pump to render the pump inoperative.

9. An internal combustion engine comprising a working cylinder and piston, a crank shaft, a connecting rod between the piston and shaft, a fuel valve, a fuel pump, and an air starting valve, in combination with connected levers vibrated in synchronism with the crank shaft to actuate the fuel valve and the pump. a cam lever and means for actuating the starting valve, a

fulcrum that is common to said connected levers and cam lever, a regulator for the pump, a means for transmitting motion from the fulcrum to the regulator, and means for adjusting the fulcrum to put the fuel valve out of operation and the starting valve and cam lever into operation and adjust the regulator to stop the effective delivery of the pump.

10. An internal combustion engine comprising a working cylinder and piston, a crank shaft, :1 connecting rod between the piston and shaft, a fuel valve. a fuel pump, and an air starting valve, in combination with connected levers vibrated in synchronism with the crank shaft to actuate the fuel valve and the pump, a cam lever and means for actuating the starting valve, eccentrics that form fulcra for the connected levers and cam lever, a control shaft for supporting the fulcra, a pump regulator, a connection between the control shaft and the regulator, and a handle arranged to move the shaft to a given angular position to put the-air starting valve into operation and move the regulator to stop the pump, and to different angular positions to put the fuel valve and pump into operation and adjust the regulator to vary the pump delivery.

11. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a vorking piston and cylinder, a crank shaft, a connecting rod connecting the piston and shaft, a fuel valve,

, a pair of pivotallyunited levers for actuating the fuel valve. one of said levers being connected to the rod, the other having a fulcrum carried by the engine, a starting valve, a cam lever and means for actuating the starting valve, the lever being mounted on said fulcrum, a means on the connecting rod and normally inactive for moving the cam-lever, and means for adjusting the ful crum to a. position where the pair of levers are inoperative as regards the fuel valve, and the cam lever is moved into the path of its actuating means on the connecting rod.

12. An internal combustion engine comprising a piston and cylinder, a grank shift,

a fuel pump, a fuel valve. aiida'n air starting valve, n combination with a lever system for actuating the pump and fuel valve,a connectingrod between the shaft and piston which is pivotally connected to the lever system for vibrating it, a cam lever and my hand this 20th day of February, 1914.

WILLIAM EVERETT YER ELANCK. 

